Dear God,
Bless all of the adoptive parents out there that open up their hearts and homes to children exposed to alcohol and/or drugs.
Help all of the birthmothers out there that are substance abusers; let society find a way to assist them and give them positive guidance.
…and finally, please help those of us that are stuck somewhere in between.
Amen
As our wait continues to grow, we have started to be considered for “special” situations by our agency. Situations that are not so straightforward generally containing a "higher" degree of substance abuse. As of recently, it has been far too difficult for us to handle and we have asked our agency to no longer consider us. Please do not criticize us for the decisions we make; we are doing the best we can. These cases are just slowly ripping me to pieces.
I am attending a course on Saturday: “Brainstorming: Understanding the Effects of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder”. We are also considering re-attending a previous course we took: “Parenting a Child at Risk”. Will this help?
Has anyone else experienced such happenings and might be willing to exchange some emails?
I am sure most everyone has heard of the woman who recently “returned” her child to Russia by putting him on a plane with a note. I do wonder how much education that family had before the adoption took place…or did they rush into the situation just wanting to fill the void in their lives. I suppose that conversation is a whole different blog post, for I can’t begin to explain how wrong that situation is.
To better days ahead…
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4 comments:
I will tell you that from people I have talked to and from my own experience as an Occupational Therapist that alcohol exposure appears to have the most significant, long term affects. Children who have been exposed to drugs in utero appear to do better. Now, of'course I know it's hard to know exactly how much they have been exposed to and sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith, but I was surprised to learn that prolonged alcohol exposure is more damaging than drug exposure (I am not a Dr., just reporting what I have heard)....best wishes to you!!
You are amazing. History of substance abuse is scary and if you find it's not a situation you are comfortable with, there is nothing wrong with that. You've got to do what you are comfortable with, that's the only way you'll know when the decision to make is the correct one to make. You are amazing Katie. Don't forget that.
A few months ago we were approached with a situation similar to what you're describing. While it's so difficult to say no you have to stay true to what you know you can handle. Would love to hear more about the class you're attending!
Katie,
Hang in there and just keep going with your gut. When it does happen, you will feel it was all so worth it :)
BethAnn
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